Yars’ Revenge is a video game released for the Atari 2600 in 1981. It was created by Howard Scott Warshaw. Yars’ Revenge was Atari’s best-selling original title for the 2600. You can play Yars’ Revenge online here.
Yars’ Revenge (Atari 2600) game description
The player controls an insect-like creature called a Yar who must nibble or shoot through a barrier in order to fire his Zorlon Cannon into the breach. The objective is to destroy the evil Qotile, which exists on the other side of the barrier.
The Qotile can attack the Yar, even if the barrier is undamaged, by turning into the Swirl and shooting across the screen. In early levels the player is warned before the Swirl is fired, and he can retreat to a safe distance to dodge the attack. The Yar can hide from a pursuing destroyer missile within a “neutral zone” in the middle of the screen, but the Yar cannot shoot while in the zone. The Swirl can kill the Yar anywhere, even inside the Neutral Zone.
Gameplay screenshot
To destroy the Qotile or the Swirl, the player has to either touch the Qotile or eat a piece of the shield to activate the Zorlon Cannon, aim the cannon by leading the with the Qotile or Swirl, then fire the cannon and fly the Yar out of the path of the cannon’s shot. If the weapon finds its mark, the level ends. If the cannon blast hits a piece of the shield or misses, it is expended.
The cannon itself is dangerous to the player, for once it is activated, the fire button launches it instead of firing the Yar’s usual shots, and as the cannon tracks the Yar’s vertical position, players effectively use the Yar itself as a target and therefore must immediately maneuver to avoid being hit by their own shot.
The Qotile isn’t completely unarmed against your attacks, however. Wandering around the screen is a destroyer missile, which will constantly be homing in on your Yar. This missile can not be destroyed, however you can temporarily hide from it in a shield which runs vertically in the center of the screen. The Yar will be unable to fire when hiding in the shield so you can’t stay there indefinitely!
The Qotiles second weapon is a swirl which it will randomly fire at you and should be dodged. When you finally destroy the Qotile you can move on to the next, faster round of gameplay. Several game variations are included which control the difficulty and speed of the game.
Play Yars’ Revenge online
You can play Yars’ Revenge online, emulated in web browser here.
